The native of the New York City borough of Queens was the breakout star of the Cowboys' 24-17 conquest of the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants, catching a career-high eight passes for 114 yards and his first two NFL touchdowns.

“I can't tell you how much it means to me to be able to come up here where I'm from and be able to do this,” said Ogletree, who entered the game with only 25 catches for 294 yards in 31 outings and without a 100-yard performance.

But it wasn't just what happened at MetLife Stadium that made Ogletree's day memorable.

“It was great, just a good deal,” Ogletree said after Dallas gained a measure of revenge for last year's playoffs-or-go-home loss in the regular-season finale. “I felt really good when I woke up this morning. I had great meetings, got to see my brother, really good vibes today.”

His older brother, Calvin, was critically wounded by a gunshot to the head by thugs on bicycles in January. Calvin, a 26-year-old owner of a luxury-car rental shop in Queens, is slowly recovering while the crime remains unsolved, according to the New York Daily News.

“I think about him all the time,” said Ogletree, 25. “He's an inspiration in my life. He's going to continue to be that.”

Ogletree said in training camp the shooting deepened his commitment to improving.

“Some bad things have turned me into a better person,” he said.

With the Giants focused more on stars Miles Austin and Dez Bryant, Tony Romo targeted Ogletree a team-high 11 times. Ogletree capped the surprise performance by clinching the game with a 13-yard catch. It came on a third-and-10 play from the Dallas 26 at the two-minute warning and the Giants without a timeout.

New York played with an injury-depleted secondary, but that didn't diminish the potent chemistry between Romo and Ogletree. Their TD hookups covered 10 and 40 yards, with the latter featuring a nifty double move by Ogletree to shake cornerback Corey Webster.

Romo was asked about his confidence in Ogletree, who didn't emerge as the No. 3 wideout until late in the preseason.

“I know sometimes journalists can go off the stuff they see in games, but for me I'm going off the guy in practice every day,” said Romo, who passed for 307 yards and three TDs on 22-of-29 accuracy, including an interception.

“You see the guy getting away from press coverage every day, working hard to get open. The reason Kevin got that job was he did (his job) day in and day out and his commitment showed tonight.”

Coach Jason Garrett said Ogletree benefited from increased reps with the first team in camp while a hamstring injury sidelined Austin.

“Some of that showed up last night,” Garrett said Thursday. “There's a comfort level Tony has with Kevin, who is a very good route runner. He can release off the line. He can win on routes down the field. He's done that since Day 1 and is doing it more consistently now.”

Signed by Dallas as an undrafted free agent out of Virginia in 2009, Ogletree got a one-year deal in March after finishing 2011 with only 15 catches for 164 yards. His lowest point came when Romo called him “stupid” after he ran a poor route in a game against Washington.

But all was good between them after they vanquished the Giants.

“There's no other quarterback I want throwing the ball,” Ogletree said.